Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — Wild bees, crucial pollinators for many crops, are on the decline in some of the main agricultural regions of the U.S., according to scientists who produced the first national map of bee populations and identified numerous trouble spots. The researchers on Monday cited 139 counties as especially worrisome, with wild bee […] Read more
Wild bees seen dwindling in main U.S. crop regions
Saskatchewan farmland off limits for pension plans next month
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters/Staff — New rules for buying farmland in Saskatchewan, Canada’s biggest wheat- and canola-growing province, will take effect Jan. 4, and toughen its ban on pension plans investing, the provincial government said Monday. The changes make more explicit an existing ban on pension plans and trusts from buying land and continue to limit purchases of […] Read more
CP revises hostile bid for Norfolk Southern, again
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian Pacific Railway slammed railway Norfolk Southern on Wednesday, accusing it of misleading investors even as CP executives rolled out a new bid with increased shareholder protections to acquire the U.S.-based railroad. Executives from Canada’s second-largest railroad said the deal is now in the hands of Norfolk Southern’s shareholders, and urged its board […] Read more
Norfolk Southern rejects CP’s revised offer
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — U.S. railroad operator Norfolk Southern has formally rejected a revised offer from Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), raising the prospect of a proxy battle. CP shareholder Bill Ackman said last week that CP CEO Hunter Harrison and he have both been sounded out by activists interested in a proxy fight with Norfolk Southern. Ackman […] Read more
Dow, DuPont to merge in deal to create chem giant
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Chemical giants DuPont and Dow Chemical agreed to merge in an all-stock deal valuing the combined company at US$130 billion in a win for activist investors that could spark further consolidation in the farm chemicals industry. The deal to combine two of the biggest and oldest U.S. chemical producers is a prelude to […] Read more
Glencore shares jump on debt reduction moves, spending cuts
Reading Time: 3 minutes Johannesburg | Reuters –– Glencore has increased its debt reduction target and deepened its capital spending cuts, stepping up its response to lower commodity prices and boosting its battered shares by 12 per cent on Thursday. The mining and commodities trading firm and owner of Canadian grain handler Viterra said it was targeting net debt […] Read more
Dow-DuPont talks driven by weak farm demand, investor pressure
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Merger talks between Dow Chemical and DuPont are likely to have been precipitated by shareholder pressure and weakening demand for crop-protection chemicals, and such a deal would have been unlikely even a few months ago. Stocks of both companies jumped 12 per cent on Wednesday — Dow’s to a record high of $56.80 […] Read more
CP revises offer for Norfolk Southern, rebuffed again
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) on Tuesday revised its bid to buy U.S. railroad operator Norfolk Southern Corp, less than a week after its prior $28.4 billion proposal was rejected but the new offer was promptly rejected again. Calgary-based CP said it was now offering $32.86 in cash and 0.451 of a share in […] Read more
BHP Billiton to cut 76 Sask. potash jobs
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton will cut 76 jobs from its Canadian potash operations due to low commodity prices, a company spokesperson said on Friday. Work continues on sinking and lining shafts at BHP’s potash mine near Jansen, Sask., about 60 km southeast of Humboldt, according to the spokesperson. The mine would be the […] Read more
U.S. railway Norfolk Southern rejects CP offer
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — U.S. railroad operator Norfolk Southern said Friday its board had rejected Canadian Pacific Railway’s US$28.4 billion offer, calling it “grossly inadequate” and could face substantial regulatory hurdles. A struggling coal transportation market, suppressed by weak market demand and global oversupply, has weighed on the earnings of Norfolk, making it more vulnerable as a […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
